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Describing himself as both ‘tourist and historian,’ bestselling author Simon Sebag Montefiore was perfectly placed to present a series of programmes on iconic cities. Rome was the second in the strand, a city rich in politics, art and religion. Simon tells us how the series came about and of the challenges they faced filming in one of Europe’s busiest places. He discusses how the stories told were chosen, the ones he had to have, the Roman Empire, Michaelangelo, Mussolini, and the ones that he could include simply because he felt they needed telling. He describes the thrill of filming in the midst of Rome’s astonishing architecture, of his initial terror descending into the depths of the city’s sewer, and the fascinating secrets it revealed. But most of all about his joy at telling audiences the stories of a city he so clearly loves.